A Lie of the Mind
by Ramesses
Summary: In a town where one's thoughts are not one's own, secrets are involuntarily revealed. (Do not read it, if you already know you don't like Slash. This has a Jack/Carey romantic subplot.)


A Lie of the Mind

By Ramesses

            _The idea of telepathy has been around for centuries. The notion that there were those among us who could sense the thoughts of others. Since only 10% of the human brain is utilized, there are those who theorize that the next major step in our evolution is to acquire the ability to communicate without language- Through telepathy._

            The Phillip's tour-bus arrived withinthe borders of the town of Denson, Indiana on a Friday night. 

            "Are you sure this is a _town_?" Fi asked her mother, glancing out the window at the open road. "I don't see any sign of civilization."

            "Sure there is, Honey." Molly bit her lip, gazing out the window herself, hoping to find something quickly to confirm her statement. "Um… see there! There's a… a diner."

            "A diner!" Ned grinned quickly pulling the bus to the side of the long stretch of road nearest the diner. 

            "Ned, I'm not sure we should stop here." Molly frowned at the place. "It looks a little…" she paused trying to word it diplomatically… and failing, "…trashy."

            "Looks can be deceiving. I happen to be a connoisseur of fine Diners, Molly. And this looks like a prime example."

            Fi, Jack and Carey followed Ned and Molly into the Diner. Ned was the only one who looked remotely comfortable in the setting. He took a booth with Molly, while Fi, Jack and Carey sat together at another. 

            While Jack wiped something sticky off of his fork with his napkin, Carey immediately started scanning the little jukebox bolted onto their table. He put in a quarter and set it to D-7, Space Oddity by David Bowie. 

            Fi smiled a bit, settling into the grungy environment.

            "This place is disgusting." Jack frowned. 

            "I kinda like it." Fi said, with half a grin, as she flipped through the jukebox's list of songs herself.

            "Good music, at least." Carey said with a smile. 

            (He's got such a cute smile.) Jack glanced down at his, now clean, knife.

            "Did… did you just say something, Jack?" Fi raised a brow, eyeing her brother carefully. Jack's face turned very red, very suddenly and he shook his head, vehemently.

            "No!" He averted his eyes quickly. "Not a thing." He began fiddling with his knife, again. "Nice and clean now." 

            Carey eyed Jack for a long while, saying nothing but, "Hm…" (Does he really think I'm cute?)

            "Carey!" Fi looked at him in horror. "What are you _saying_?!"

            "Nothing!" Carey exclaimed, with shock. His face flushing to about the same shade as Jack's. "I didn't say _anything_." He stated very firmly. 

            (Is my brother… gay?) Fi knitted her brow, looking between the two boys.

            "No!" Jack looked horrified. "How could you say such a thing!" 

            "I didn't say anything!" Fi put her hands up defensively. "Something really strange is going on here!" 

            "Maybe there's a ventriloquist in the booth next to us." Carey shrugged, knowing that a ventriloquist couldn't have possibly read his thoughts and put them into words. 

            "That must be it." Jack said with a firm nod. "A ventriloquist."   
            At that moment the waitress appeared, "Hey, kids. What do you all want to order?" (Bunch of tourists.)

            "What did you call us?" Carey winced a bit, looking up at her. 

            "Oh, don't mind that, Sweetie. You'll get used to it." (Whoa… Hot number at table three.)

            "Hot numb-…" Carey began, but was interrupted by the waitress.

            "Listen, Sweets. This has been going on for a few months now. The Mayor says it's a new strain of Tourette's Syndrome that got into the water supply or the air or somethin'. Don't worry about it. It's a little embarrassing, at first, but you get used to it. It does a lot for your complexion, blushin' all the time."

            "Alright, well…" Carey turned toward the waitress, looking up at her. "I'll have a cheeseburger and fries."

            Meanwhile Jack gazed at Carey's beautiful lips as he spoke. (How I'd love to lay my lips across his.)

            The waitress, Fi and Carey all gazed silently at Jack for a few moments. Then, suddenly, Jack jumped up and ran out the door, back onto the bus.

            "Jack, wait!" Carey called, after him. 

            "This is very strange." Fi frowned. "Something is very wrong here."

            "Eh, it's nothin' wrong, Darlin'. This is a new century." The waitress smiled down at her. "You still wanna order?"

            "I think not, ma'am." Fi offered a small smile, then got up, as did Carey.

            Molly grabbed Fi's arm, as she headed past their booth.

"Fi, what was the matter with your brother, just now?"

"Oh… oh, nothing, mom. I think he just… felt a little ill. There was something on his knife." Fi bit her lip. "To be honest with you, Mom, I really lost my appetite too. I think I'm going to head back to the bus."

"Alright, Fi. Make sure your brother is alright, too." She let go of Fi's arm, with a gentle caress, and turned to Ned with a frown. "A connoisseur, huh?"

"What can I say? I got a little rusty since my biker days."

Back on the bus, Jack was sitting down, hugging his knees to his chest and crying into a pillow. When Carey got on the bus he walked straight to Jack, while Fi went straight to her laptop to investigate their predicament. 

"Jack…" Carey whispered, but the other boy didn't look up. He repeated louder, "Jack. Jack, it's okay. You don't have to be embarrassed."

"How can I not be? You heard what I was thinking. You know what I am… how I feel."

"Then it's only fair that you know that I feel the same way about you, Jack."

"You…? You can't." Jack looked up from his pillow, tear-tracks across his face.

"But…" Carey shrugged, with a bit of a smile. "I do." 

(There's that cute smile again.) Jack bit his lip. 

"You really think I'm that cute, Jack?" Carey blushed a bit, at the involuntary flattery. The best kind. 

"I… I really do, Carey." Jack took Carey's hand and pulled him down to sit beside him. And their lips met in a soft kiss. 

(This feels amazing.) Carey shut his eyes.

(I've always wanted to feel these lips.) Jack didn't, for he wanted to see Carey's beautiful, angelic face and to watch his reaction. As if hearing his thoughts wasn't enough confirmation that he really felt the same way. 

            "Guys, I found out-…!" Fi, paused noticing what was going on. "Oh…" (Yup, my brother is gay. And apparently so is Carey Bell.) 

            They separated quickly, looking away from Fi and each other. 

            "Anyway, guys. I found out that there was a UFO sighting that directly corresponds with Mayor's statement about the 'New Form of Tourette's Syndrome.' See," she held up a printout, "The UFO sighting is on the front page on April 8th, and the Mayor's address was printed up on April 10th. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

            (This is really embarrassing.) Carey was still flushed in the face, from having been caught.

            "I guess not." Fi frowned. "Come on, guys. I'm over that, and frankly it's not such a big deal to _me_. I just want to find out what's going on with this town."

            "I…" Carey began. "I think Jack and I need some time to talk. I promise we'll go with you to see the Mayor tomorrow, if you let us have a bit of time now before your mom and my dad get back."

            "Alright." Fi nodded with an excited grin. "It's a deal. I can use this time to do a little more research, anyway." 

            "Great." Carey said, watching her walk off back toward her laptop. 

            "Great." Repeated Jack. 

            "So, what are we going to do about this, Mr. Phillips?" Carey licked his lips, still fresh with the taste of the other boy.

            "We'll… just go with the flow, I guess?" Jack shrugged.

            "Sounds good to me." Carey grinned leaning in, for another kiss.

            The next day, the tour-bus pulled into the downtown area of Denson, and Ned let Fi, Carey and Jack off so they could "take Fi to buy some shoes." They headed directly to the Town Hall, which was, unsurprisingly, rather empty much like rest of the town. 

            "People must not socialize anymore, now that you everyone can hear their thoughts." Jack noted.

            "Can you blame them?" Carey asked, with a sidelong glance to Jack.

            Fi was walking ahead of them, ever eager to solve another mystery. She rushed passed the courtyard, with the large sundial and jogged up the steps to the Town Hall, and stormed directly into the mayor's office.

            "Mr. Mayor!" As she walked in, the Mayor was… not human. He had bluish skin, and no hair with strange mandibles on either side of his mouth. He emitted a surprised, otherworldly screech and pressed a button on his wrist, which made him suddenly turn into a handsome, older gentleman. "Mr… Mayor?" Fi stepped farther into the room.

            "Please, Girl…" The man's motions were very sharp, and inhuman. "Have a seat." 

            "I think I'd rather stand… Sir. And I have a few questions that I think you'd better answer. I was going to inquire about the UFO, but that doesn't seem necessary at this point, does it?"

            "Fair enough." The creature offered a slight, graceful nod with the graying head of his Human image. 

            "So instead, I'll only ask about the so-called 'Tourette's Syndrome.' It can't be Tourette's. There is no way a syndrome could become an airborne virus or bacteria, that way."

            "You are, of course correct." The Mayor agreed.

            "Then what is happening to people?" Fi frowned.

            "My people are… benevolent. We do not wish to harm your race. However you have a mineral, which we very much require."

            "So…?"

            "So, as part of our advanced justice system it is illegal for us to make an open encounter with a race as primitive as yours. It would defy your own best interests and hinder your ability to advance independently."

            "So what is going on here?"

            "An experiment." The Mayor paced, as he spoke, in his graceful, inhuman manner. "The town sundial is, in fact, a device which increases Human brain usage and grants you the capability to communicate non-verbally, to some extent. It is inconsistent, but we believe with continued use it will teach your people to learn to utilize a larger percentage of their brains on their own. If things go well, it should advance your evolution by leaps and bounds."

            "Why… why would you even do such a thing?" Fi cringed a bit, at the notion of being tampered with like a lab animal.

            "So we could open trade relations with you sooner, of course." The mayor tilted his head, pausing in his tracks. 

            "I think you should stop this experiment at once, and leave our world."

            "But why? We offer you betterment. We have yet to request payment."

            "You are screwing with people's heads. If we were ready for that kind of development, it would happen to us naturally, wouldn't it?" Fi balled her fists up.

            "I suppose. But we need your limestone."

            "Limestone? What for?" Fi asked, giving him a confused look.

            "It is a delicate spice used in an ancient tea recipe that we haven't been able to produce in ages!" 

            "So, let me get this straight… You're messing with Humanity's evolutionary process… for a cup of tea?"

            "Correct." The Mayor nodded once.

            "You'd really better leave. You can't just sacrifice other people's privacy in the name of luxury."

            The Mayor frowned a bit and stared at her for a long while. "I have just… consulted the High Council of Dargomak. They are in agreement with you, I am afraid. I am to dismantle my operations immediately. They thank you for your… advocacy of Human interests and wished for me to express their confidence that, if most of Humankind is as thoughtful and logical as you, we shan't have to wait **_too_** long for your evolutionary advancement after all. Good fortune, Fiona." And with that, the Mayor vanished- Just as Carey and Jack came through the door. 

            "Fi, are you alright? We didn't know where you went?" Jack ran over to her. "You ran off ahead of us, before we even noticed you were gone."

            "Jack! Carey! You're never going to believe what was causing all the weird brain-stuff here in Denson!" 

            "Alright, why don't you tell us all about it on the way back to the bus. It looks like the Mayor isn't in today." Carey said, heading back out the door, followed by Fi and Jack. 

            "But he was!" She grinned, "And get this- He was an alien!" 

            Jack and Carey exchanged a glance and simultaneously rolled their eyes, shaking their heads. 

            "I'm serious!" Fi insisted, as they headed down the steps of the Town Hall. "They were using some device to screw with everyone's minds to try and evolve us quicker than normal!"

            "I'm sure they were." Jack nodded, humoring her. Carey paused, suddenly in his tracks, staring at an empty space in the middle of the courtyard in front of the Town Hall. "What's wrong, Carey?" 

            "Nothing, Jack… I just… I just thought there was a sundial here when we walked in."

            Fi just grinned, and stayed silent for the rest of the walk back to the bus. 

            "Hey, guys." Molly smiled, "Welcome back. Where're the shoes, Fi?"

            "Oh… we, um… couldn't find any I liked." She grinned inwardly.

            "What are you smirking about?" Molly gave her a suspicious look, and she simply shrugged in response. Molly then turned quickly to catch Carey and Jack exchanging a suspicious look of their own. "Hm…" She looked pensive as she took a seat.

            Carey walked toward the back of the bus, only to be goosed by Jack on the way. Carey let out a little yelp and hopped up, hitting his head on the ceiling. "Ouch!"

            Fi bit her lip to suppress the full out, ear-to-ear grin that was pulling at the corners of her cheeks. She leaned in to whisper to Jack, "…and I thought you and _Clu_ were close." He could only blush profusely in response.


End file.
